Bahrain opposition calls for big protests ahead of F1 race

The main opposition society in Bahrain has called for a major demonstration ahead of Sunday's Formula One Grand Prix race in the Gulf kingdom.

Khalil al Marzooq, a senior Al Wefaq leader, told the BBC that the protest would take place along a major motorway, Budaiya Highway on Friday.

But he said the society will not call for protests on the day of the race.

Activists have demanded the race be cancelled due to the country's poor human rights record.

Mr Marzooq also urged all protests to be peaceful.

"We do not support any violence either from security forces or protesters," he said.

The F1 race is taking place against a backdrop of tension as unrest continues in the island kingdom.

On Tuesday, police fired tear gas and clashed with students in a raid on a secondary school in the capital, Manama.

Officers stormed the Jabreya school for boys after students staged a protest demanding the release of a colleague arrested on Monday, activists say.

Wefaq says more than 100 people have been arrested this month, many from villages close to the site of the race.

And Amnesty International has condemned what it called a "crackdown" on protests ahead of the race.

In a statement on Wednesday, the organisation's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said:

"The authorities are trying to use the Grand Prix as a platform to show progress, with claims that the human rights situation has improved, whilst stepping up repression in order to ensure nothing disturbs their public image."

However Citizens for Bahrain, an organisation that supports the race, rejected criticism from human rights groups.

Police used teargas to quell a school protest on Tuesday

In a statement sent to journalists it argued that "the race unites people, despite political differences, after a period of unrest and sectarian tension".

But Mr Marzook told the BBC that the tension is ongoing and that a dialogue aimed at finding solutions was "stalemated".

"The government wants the world to believe the situation is normal. Bahrain is not normal. The only thing that is normal is the repression."

The country has been rocked by anti-government protests since early 2011.